Wendy’s leader tapped to serve as Delhaize America president, CEO

The supermarket conglomerate announced that Roland Smith will serve as Delhaize America’s president and CEO, as well as EVP of the Delhaize Group, effective Oct. 15. Smith is replacing Ronald Hodge, who will be retiring from his post this year. Hodge will serve in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.

"After more than 30 years at Delhaize, I have decided that the time is right for me to retire," Hodge said. "I am proud to have been part of this great company and to have played a role in the acquisition of Hannaford by Delhaize Group and the creation of Delhaize America. While the macroeconomic environment remains tough for our industry, our repositioning work is well under way and I am confident that my colleagues will continue to build on that momentum in the future. I look forward to working with Roland and the rest of the Delhaize team to ensure a seamless transition."

Smith joins Delhaize America from fast food chain Wendy’s, where he served as president and CEO. Prior to that, Smith served as president and CEO of Wendy’s/Arby’s Group.

"We are delighted that Roland will become the next CEO of Delhaize America and look forward to welcoming him to our company," Delhaize Group president and CEO Pierre-Olivier Beckers said. "He is a seasoned leader with a proven track record of managing large consumer businesses, reenergizing brands and driving top and bottom-line growth. We are confident his background and experience will serve to strengthen and accelerate the ongoing transformation of our business in the U.S."

TRENDING STORIES

Late BTS rush boosts Fred’s Aug. sales up 2.8% to $140 million

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fred’s on Thursday posted $139.9 million in sales, up 2.8%, for the four weeks ended Aug. 25. Comparable-store sales for the month decreased 2.8%, versus an increase of 1.6% in the same period last year.

"Although comparable-store sales for August were slow, an increase in late back-to-school sales put us ahead of our recently issued guidance for the month," Fred’s CEO Bruce Efird said. "In addition, our pharmacy department’s performance remained strong, primarily due to ongoing script growth and generic drug introductions, together with our aggressive pursuit of new pharmacy acquisitions."

Fred’s recently announced several initiatives in an effort to increase foot traffic, including additional direct mailers and the expansion of the company’s SmartCard loyalty program. Fred’s also expanded assortments across home, hardware and automotive departments.

Fred’s total sales for the year-to-date period increased 3% to $1.1 billion. On a comparable-store basis, year-to-date sales decreased 0.8% versus an increase of 0.6% over the same period last year.

During the month, Fred’s opened three new stores and five new pharmacies.

TRENDING STORIES

Q3 off to good start at Target

MINNEAPOLIS — A 4.2% increase in August same-store sales at Target was at the high end of the company’s forecast range.

The solid showing during August was noteworthy because it came on top of a prior-year increase of 4.1% and was attributable primarily to an increase in average transaction size. According to Target, about three-fourths of the increase was due to growth in ticket with increase shopper traffic accounting for the remainder of the comp increase.

"Sales were stronger in the second half of the month, as guests responded to Target’s broad assortment and compelling value for their back-to-school and back-to-college shopping," said Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel.

As in prior months, comps were strongest in food which experienced a high single-digit increase, and in health and beauty, which experienced a mid single-digit increase. August comparable-store sales in apparel increased in line with the company average while the home and hardlines areas experienced a low single-digit increase.

The company said sales strength was broad-based with every region of the country reporting an increase and described its month end inventories as being in very good condition.

The modestly better than expected sales performance during August wasn’t enough to cause the company to elevate expectations for September. Comps for the coming month are forecast to increase in the low single digits.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and singer Diana Ross now feature on the schedule for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, slated for April 21-24 in Palm Beach, Fla.

Forgotten Password

Registration complete

REGISTER

USERNAME *

Spaces are allowed; punctuation is not allowed except for periods, hyphens, and underscores.

E-MAIL ADDRESS *

A valid e-mail address. All e-mails from the system will be sent to this address. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.

Password *

Confirm Password *

Please choose a password for your account; it must be 8 - 30 characters. .

First Name *

Last Name *

Company Name *

Job Title *

ZIP *

Are you a *

Retailer or Healthcare professional

Non-Retailer

How many stores do you operate?: *

Which best describes the business/industry you work in?: *

Which best describes your job title?: *

Please select the newsletters you would like to subscribe to

DSN A.M.
Daily news stories covering the retail drug industry

Breaking News
First-to-the-market with developing stories in the industry